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Competitive Innovations in 10th: Signature Look of Superiority pt.1

By James "One_Wing" Grover

Look – there’s a lot of warhammer this week, a lot of elves, and we all know that balance changes are coming in the not too distant future. With that in mind, no big long pre-amble from me, we’re just going jump straight in.

Today we’ll be covering:

  • Goonhammer Open US 2023
  • Salt Lake City Open 2023 (Supermajor)
  • Roll for Damage 2023 (major)
  • Grimdark 14
  • Iberian Perrees Tournnament
  • Bendigo Open

On Friday we’ll be looking at:

  • Capital City Bloodbath (major)
  • Gateway Open (major)
  • The Pecking Order: Rise of Kings
  • Trident Wargaming Circuit – Iron Within
  • Power Behind the Throne
  • TLM x Layton Midnight Melee GT

For this week’s showdown the Patrons have voted that we’re heading down under, and they’re going to be:

  • Imperial Knights vs Tau at the Bendigo Open
  • Necrons vs Drukhari at Power Behind the Throne

2023 US Goonhammer Open 40k GT

56-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Baltimore, MD United States on August 19 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Mathew Burgoon – Ynnari – 1st Place

Credit: Keewa

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Ultimate Ynnari go-wide

Final Round Matchup

63 – 53 Victory against Ken Knox – Deathwatch.

Thoughts

Mathew has been on a tear with this build recently, and wins a coveted Goonhammer Champion’s Belt with a victory in Baltimore. Ynnari getting to add Ravagers to the mix means that they do go-wide shooting better than event the rest of the Aeldari, letting them utterly obliterate any large or elite targets, while Warp Spiders provide great objective and anti-horde play. It’s a lean, mean killing machine, and Mathew clearly knows just how to use it, big congratulations!

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Ken Knox – Deathwatch: Two big Proteus teams and a lot of small shooting threats to bring in from reserve, plus the mandatory full Desolation unit.
  • 3rd – Shaun Reynolds – Deathwatch: Veterans and lots of Gravis, taking a larger unit each of Inceptors and Eradicators, plus the full Desolation unit.
  • 4th – David Adelman – Ynnari: Go-wide shooting with Ynnari extras and a full unit of Wraithguard as an anchor.
  • 5th – Tony Phillips – Adeptus Custodes: Two big Custodian units, two medium ones, each with a Character to lead the charge.
  • 6th – Tyler Principio – Chaos Daemons: Monster mash with the Be’lakor, Bloodthirster, Bird, Shalaxi quad, plus Pink Horrors and lots of small board control units.

Salt Lake Open 2023 – 40K Championships

108-player, 7-round Major in Salt Lake City, UT US on August 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Ben Jurek – Aeldari – 1st Place

Wraithknight. Credit: Rockfish
Wraithknight. Credit: Rockfish

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wraithknight + hulls

Final Round Matchup

97 – 52 Victory against Chase Chappell – Chaos Daemons.

Thoughts

Those are still some weird looking Orks Ben.

Cody Jiru – Ynnari – 2nd Place

Yvraine, the Herald of Ynnead
Yvraine, the Herald of Ynnead by Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Monstrous Ynnari

Thoughts

OK so it is an Aeldari list, but I don’t think anyone had Beastmasters on their bingo cards. I had vaguely looked at the number of wounds they give you in Drukhari with interest, but it turns out, of course, that it’s when you import them to Aeldari land that they really shine. Stick Fortune on them and they’re at least a modest pain to clear out, and in combination with the big Wraithguard unit they give you lots of wounds to gum up the board with while the many small shooting threats do their work. Scouts 9″ is also very significant on them, as it’s enough for them to comfortably sprint to a hiding place out the gate, at which point they’re then hard to prise out, and can bring the Yncarne over for the punish when the opponent does so. Aeldari/Ynnari players will not rest until literally every legal unit has featured in a top four army, well done Cody for pushing that onward.

Evan Stump – Aeldari – 3rd Place

Credit: Arranon

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wraithknight + hulls

Thoughts

*extremely loud incorrect buzzer*

Aaaand we’re back. Solitaire stocks seem to be up a bit at the moment, which is worth keeping an eye on, but otherwise this is normal Aeldari service. Congratulations to Evan on taking the bronze medal.

Antonius Tolman – Adeptus Custodes – 4th Place

Adeptus Custodes Blade Champion by Crab-stuffed Mushrooms

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Murderous Custodes

Thoughts

Talk about quality over quantity. Three full blocks of Wardens, two of the nastiest anti-tank platforms in the game, and even two Assassins in support. Very flexible, and unlikely to ever come up against something it doesn’t have some sort of plan into, allowing Antonius to take the coveted “highest-placing non-Aeldari” trophy, and also fourth place.

The Best of the Rest

There were 4 more players on 6-1 or 5.5-1.5 records. They were:

  • 5th – Grant Eklund – Aeldari: Double Wraithknight with Yncarne, Spectres and Spiders.
  • 6th – Chase Chappell – Chaos Daemons: Monster mash with Shalaxi, Kairos, Be’lakor and a Big Bird, plus a Nurgle Daemon Prince with the Endless Gift as a cheaper fifth piece than the standard GUO.
  • 7th – Nicolas Wenker – Chaos Daemons: Slightly fewer monsters (going with Be’lakor, Bloodthirster, Bird, Shalaxi) and more glue, fitting in a unit each of Pink Horrors and Plaguebearers for objective control.
  • 8th – Derek Holder – Adeptus Custodes: Unusually hull-heavy Custodes, combining two Caladius tanks with the combo of a Grav Carrier and Sagittarum, providing strong shooting burst.

Roll For Damage 2023

78-player, 6-round Grand Tournament in Fulham, SA AU on August 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Tyson Whitelaw – Aeldari – 1st Place

Night Spinner
Night Spinner. Credit: Wings

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Wraithknight + Go Wide

Final Round Matchup

90 – 77 Victory against Chen Gao – Aeldari.

Thoughts

Ah yes “friendly” elves. To be fair, the build does have one interesting choice, which is going for a second Wayleaper (with Fate’s Messnger) as a Lone Operative instead of a Death Jester or Solitaire. That is in fact, pretty neat, to the point that now I’ve seen it I’m sort of wondering why it’s not being tried more, as the price is good. Much to consider, well done Tyson.

James Mann – Imperial Knights – 2nd Place

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

High Threat Knights

Thoughts

That’s quite a trio of giant robots there, with two Crusaders unleashing withering firepower and Canis Rex being, well, Canis Rex. Worth highlighting that the list looks built to be a bit less static than some of the double Crusader lists – given the presence of Mysterious Guardian on one Crusader and the Banner on the other, it feels like the plan is not to try and maximise stationary shooting turn one, instead moving out to staging positions and then unleashing hell from there. Seems strong, and with Canis along for the ride can easily be overwhelming for opponents. A nice spin on normal plans overall, well done to James.

Bradley Mc – Adeptus Custodes – 3rd Place

Custodian Guard
Custodian Guard. Credit: Edwin “Lupe” Moriarty

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Infantry Custodes

Thoughts

Another strong showing for the Custodes here, building around a big central Custodian block that can have whichever of the three Characters the matchup demands attached to it, two Warden squads as secondary hammers, with a big Allarus unit as the final looming threat. Imperial Agents add a tonne of objective utility, and the end result is another powerful, flexible Custodes build, which Bradley managed an impressive 3-1 into Aeldari with over the weekend.

Sam Young – Aeldari – 4th Place

Harlequins Troupe and Starweaver. Credit: Corrode

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Double Avatar Harlequins, give me strength.

Thoughts

Time for two callbacks to things earlier in the article. Firstly, this is the build that dealt Bradley his loss, making the army title extremely prophetic (as befits the Aeldari). Secondly, that thing about getting every single Aeldari unit into a top four list? Now it’s the turn of Skyweavers and Starweavers with Troupes in them. Skyweavers lost quite a bit of durability from 9th, but have a lot of ranged killing power you can leverage with all those Aeldari stratagems, and also provide a great place for the Yncarne to zap to. This list just throws hyper-mobile shooting all-round the board while the incarnation tag team provides an anchor, and showcases once again just how much there is still unexplored in the Aeldari index. Congratulations to Sam for doing something new and exciting.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 5-1 records. They were:

  • 5th – Adam Napier – Aeldari: Wraithknight, Spiders, Spectres.
  • 6th – Chris Boggiano – Adeptus Custodes: Custodes going for style points with a Land Raider alongside some of the usual toys.
  • 7th – Jono Bishop – Deathwatch: Lots of Veterans, full Hellblaster and Desolation units, and some utility tools to fill.
  • 8th – Michael Wood – Necrons: Double Doomsday, double crunchy brick, taking Lychguard with Orikan on one side and Warriors on the other.
  • 9th – Chen Gao – Aeldari: Go-wide shooting plus a big unit of Wraithblades as a tarpit.

Grimdark 14: Indexhammer

54-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Stockholms län SE on August 19 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

This event used 20-0 scoring.

Axel Rydén – Aeldari – 1st Place

Yncarne: Avatar of Ynnead. Credit: James “Boon” Kelling

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Pure Go-Wide

Final Round Matchup

17 – 3 Victory against Daniel Tercha – Chaos Knights.

Thoughts

OK, so you can’t go as wide as Ynnari, but nearly, and this list clearly wants to minimise the number of characters it’s spending points on, allowing for a truly eye-watering number of gun platforms. Please save us from this laser hell, GW.

Congratulations to Axel, commiserations to the Chaos Knight list that had to face this.

The Best of the Rest

There were 7 more players on 4-1 or better records. They were:

  • 2nd (undefeated with a draw) – Bilbo Göransson – Genestealer Cult: Horde plus Aberrants, with the unusual extra threat of Kelermorphs snuck into some of the units.
  • 3rd – Joel Larsson – Adeptus Custodes: Double Caladius plus four medium units of Infantry.
  • 4th – Razvan Alexa – Aeldari: Maximum go-wide.
  • 5th – Johan Nicolaisen – Imperial Knights: The uncomplicated but effective option of taking two Crusaders and Armigers to fill.
  • 6th – Alexander Sjöberg – Thousand Sons: Magnus and the boys, going extra hard on Characters and packing some Daemons instead of buying a Scarab unit.
  • 7th – Daniel Tercha – Chaos Knights: Loads of War Dogs and Shalaxi Helbane as a melee hammer. Interesting way to go with it, avoids opening up shootability, but ensures you have a really nasty murderous threat when the going gets tough.
  • 8th – Jacob Holmström – Tyranids: A very out-there horde and shooting list with loads of Zoanthropes and three units of shockcannon Hive Guard.

Iberian Perretes Tournament

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid ES on August 19 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

Manel Tulla – Genestealer Cult – 1st Place

Nexos
Nexos. Credit: Soggy

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Horde and Aberrants

Final Round Matchup

90 – 70 Victory against OuX ™ – Imperial Knights.

Thoughts

Aeldari officially can’t (quite) win them all, with the Genestealer Cults taking a win in Spain. Manel’s build goes unusually hard on demo Acolytes, splurging on four squads rather than the usual two, and while that means the list has a little less staying power than some variants, it’ll have massively paid off in the Imperial Knights game at the end, so great choice!

The Best of the Rest

There were 6 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2th – Iker Rubio – Aeldari: Double Avatar Wraithknight.
  • 3th – Keko Jones – Adeptus Custodes: Big Custodian core, plus Warden and Allarus units.
  • 4th – OuX – Imperial Knights: Double Crusader and Armigers.
  • 5th – Alfred Phobos – Adeptus Custodes: Massed infantry with four Characters.
  • 6th – Loken Loker – Necrons: The ultimate crunch of double Lychguard with a Monolith in tow.
  • 7th – Juan Manuel Galán Recio – Asuryani: Double Avatar Wraithknight.

Bendigo Open (BO)

34-player, 5-round Grand Tournament in Kangaroo Flat, VIC Australia on August 18 2023. All the lists for this event can be found in Best Coast Pairings.

The Showdown

Priority Targets – Chosen Battlefield – Dawn of War

Ian Pearce – T’au Empire: Big Crisis and Broadside units, lots of Commanders.
Army List - Click to Expand

vs.

Hugh Titchener – Imperial Knights: Aggro-tastic Knights, using a Valiant, Gallant and lots of Warglaives.
Army List - Click to Expand

Thoughts

A fairly hilarious showdown here, with two extremely high damage builds squaring off across the table. The Knight list is gloriously uncomplicated – it wants to cross the board as quickly as possible then crush the enemy with flame and fist. Love that for it. The Tau list also packs some super nasty killing power, of course, with the Broadside and Crisis Teams both being exceptionally deadly, and supported by a healthy supply of board control chaff.

The mission is an interesting one, as the different aspects of it pull in very different directions. Priority Targets is great for the Tau here, as they absolutely do not want to be trying to contest the mid-board against the Knights. Being able to focus on clearing them out methodically then scoring end-game Primary is great news. On the flipside, player-placed objectives is very bad for them, as the Knights can focus on putting as many objectives, including those in deployment zones, in the open as possible. If they lose the objective or deployment rolloffs the Tau risk being overly exposed to incoming firepower, which can make life very difficult for them, as they can’t really afford to be losing Broadsides.

This is one of those games where I’ve had some notes sent to me, and it looks like fate aligned pretty hard in the Knights’ direction – they won the pre-game rolls, forcing the Tau to try and contest a home objective in the open, and were able to quickly cross the board and clear chaff out while depleting the Broadsides. The Crisis Team coming in did wipe out the Valiant, but that was too little too late, and the Knights seized control of the table from there. Realistically, a lot was going to ride on the first turn roll here – both sides desperately want that extra turn of uncontested shooting/momentum (as applicable).

Result

Imperial Knights Victory – 100 – 55

Hugh Titchener – Imperial Knights – 1st Place

Imperial Knights - Knight Gallant
Imperial Knights – Knight Gallant. Credit: Pendulin

The List

Army List - Click to Expand

Archetype

Move fast and break things

Final Round Matchup

100 – 55 Victory against Ian Pearce – T’au Empire.

Thoughts

This army rules man. Just sound the charge and hit the enemy hard enough that you come out the other side with more limbs than they have. Definitely feels like a build that wants to lean on a well-timed Shoulder the Burden to try and create unstoppable momentum, especially on the already extra-durable Gallant. Great stuff from Hugh.

The Best of the Rest

There were 5 more players on 4-1 records. They were:

  • 2nd – Michael Hamilton – Ultramarines: Guilliman Repulsor spam. What year is it again?
  • 3rd – Ian Pearce – T’au Empire: Big unit each of Crisis and Broadsides, a pair of Ghostkeels and lots of Commanders.
  • 4th – Michael Mcdonald – Aeldari: Wraithknight plus go-wide.
  • 5th – Ben Ashton – Aeldari: Wraithknight plus Wraithguard.
  • 6th – Pranas Kuprys – Astra Militarum: Big Krieg unit, mechanised Cadians, Manticores and Heavy Weapon Teams and a Baneblade (hell yeah big tank) to fill.

Wrap Up

Join us again on Friday for more elves, but also at least some more list that are not elves. The duality of the metagame. Also, Faction Focus service will be resuming shortly, we’ve been slightly short-handed due to the US GHO firing the past weekend, and final prep for the UK one coming up.

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